Week 6 Recap by Katie Burnett

Greetings from London once again!! We have now successfully made it into the second week of February and it is hard to imagine that we have already been here for over a month. It’s going too fast if you ask me and I’m already trying to find ways I can stay over the 6-month visa limit; I think most of us are, actually, but especially the girls who may be on their way to a marriage proposal by the end of the trip.

This past week has been jam-packed. We with started out with interviews for our service learning placements. I was the first out of the group scheduled, but upon arrival I was informed that my supervisor was ill so it was rescheduled for Thursday. While I was frustrated, I do have a tendency to get lost so I now look at the incident as a very successful test run. For those of us not interviewing on Tuesday, we had another full day of classes. We received our first graded papers in Diaspora Studies. Most of us were clenching our teeth because the teachers here have been raving about the high quality of UK students’ work, which made us a bit nervous, but to our pleasant surprise everyone did very well. It was a great way to start off the week if you ask me! After class we all rushed home in a mad dash for the kitchen. I think all 15 of us squeezed in at some point without hurting each other in the process—you can probably tell that we are pretty much family at this point.

Once we were sufficiently stuffed, the club goers threw on their gear and headed out. One group went to a Hyphy club in Soho, one to the Gardening Club in Covent Gardens, and another out to a pub. I probably should clarify when I say the word Hyphy because I had no idea what it entailed until I became roommates with a lovely Northern Californian native named Lauren. I felt a bit out of the loop so I looked Hyphy up on the internet. Wikipedia describes it as a type of music distinguished by gritty, pounding rhythms. “An individual is said to ‘get hyphy’ when they act or dance in an overstated and ridiculous manner.” Lauren has not showed me the specific dance moves but I am sure we will get a glimpse some time soon. While I did not attend the hyphy club, I am now aware that it is more of a life style than anything.

Wednesday was our day off from school and we had the pleasure of attending the Hogarth exhibit at the Tate Britain. With free entrance, we arrived between 12 and 12:30 in the afternoon and basked in Hogarth’s vivid depictions of British culture. His work embodied a wide range of themes and emotions. Both satirical and heart wrenching, informative and cartoonist, and realistic and lively, Hogarth’s work was captivating. I was most impressed by his detailed etchings and prints. When looking closely you can see each and every stroke of his pen and feel the precision in his technique. After the Hogarth exhibit, we went our separate ways—some stayed to explore the Tate Britain while others returned to do homework.

Thursday brought yet another wonderful surprise, SNOW!! We awoke that morning to a white, snowy London and of course, no one wanted to get out of bed. Lucky us, our first class was cancelled and we had luxury of having a morning filled with relaxation. Being from southern California, any time I see snow I have an uncontrollable reflex that propels me outside. Rocki was kind enough to humor me and the two of us went on a walk to frolic in the snowy wonderland. Unfortunately, we soon found out that wet snow is not the most ideal for frolicking so after making it to the market (only down the road) we quickly turned back and rushed home so to avoid getting soaked. Later that day we had our Social Welfare course and went to bed early, eagerly awaiting our trip to Parliament.

I have to say that Parliament was the highlight of the week. We went as a group and had a hilarious tour guide who made it quite known that he was not a fan of Tony Blair. It was a wonderful experience to finally put a picture to what we are learning in our Contemporary Britain course, especially the dent in the door from Black Rod—the man who vigorously hits the door of the House of Commons to summon them to the House of Lords. I could go on for days about Parliament however I am going to hold off on a lengthy description because I know Alex is going to give a nice recap. After Parliament we had our afternoon Area Studies course during which we had our second test. Lets just say we were all ready for the weekend to begin... Friday night was very fun and a good group outing. We all went to a new club called Crazy Larry’s, which definitely lived up to it’s title. However, in the beginning, we were the only ones there; we like to avoid cover charges.

Saturday and Sunday were filled with shopping and market jumping. As for me, I went up to Oxford on Saturday afternoon to stay with my best friend Ali who is studying at St. Anne’s. Oxford was surprisingly easy to get to and it was a much-needed getaway. It actually ended up reminding me of Lewis & Clark—small college town and even smaller student body of only 400. Saturday night Ali and I went to their annual St. Anne’s club night, which was themed “Bond and Bondage.” Yes—Bondage…I was surprised too. I did not think Oxford would be crazy but we had a great time. Some of the costumes were pretty wild and I enjoyed meeting new people. I returned on Sunday afternoon to a quiet dorm; everyone was out and about visiting museums, doing homework, and shopping.

That concludes our week’s recap. This coming week should be a fun one—it’s our first day of work this Wednesday, which happens to be Valentine’s Day. The girls are hoping for a nice dinner from the boys (who happen to all be very gourmet) but we’ll see. We miss everyone back home and hope all is well!

‘Til next time,

Katie